010 – The Laity Rules with Dr. Tom Neal, Part 1

I’m excited about this episode, because I finally get to have on the show one of my favorite people to talk to, Dr. Tom Neal, professor of Spiritual and Pastoral Theology at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans, LA. Dr. Neal is a dear friend and truly one of the wisest persons I know.

We focused the conversation in this episode on the gift and grace of the lay vocation. Since we had so much fun talking (and got long-winded), I decided to break the conversation into two parts. This is part 1 and part 2 will be up shortly.

In this part of the conversation, we set the foundation by talking about the unique role of the laity in the Church, what makes the lay state distinct from consecrated life or priesthood, how the laity “consecrate the world” (as it says in Lumen Gentium), and how the laity can develop an authentic spirituality that is congruent with their state of life.

If you are a lay Catholic, this is your episode on how to find God’s plan in the seemingly mundane or secular circumstances of your life. Be encouraged.